Spring City, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Spring City, Tennessee
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| Town of Spring City | |
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Location of Spring City in Rhea County, Tennessee.
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| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Rhea |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.80 sq mi (7.25 km2) |
| • Land | 2.76 sq mi (7.16 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.09 km2) |
| Elevation | 761 ft (232 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 1,981 |
| • Estimate
(2019)
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1,851 |
| • Density | 669.68/sq mi (258.58/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes |
37337, 37381
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| Area code(s) | 423 |
| FIPS code | 47-70400 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1303755 |
Spring City is a town in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,025 at the 2000 census and 1,981 at the 2010 census. The town is located along Watts Bar Lake, and Watts Bar Dam and the Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station are nearby.
History
Spring City began as a stop along the Cincinnati Southern Railroad in the 1870s. The town was originally named "Rheaville," but nearby Rhea Springs, an older community the railroad had bypassed, objected to the name, so the name "Spring City" was chosen instead. Spring City thrived as a railroad shipping hub during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its first depot, a simple wooden building constructed in 1879, burned in 1892, and was replaced by a larger one. This second depot was in turn replaced by the current depot, which was completed by the Southern Railway in 1909.
The city received an economic boost in 1942 with the Tennessee Valley Authority's completion of Watts Bar Dam and its associated reservoir southeast of the town. That same year saw the completion of the Watts Bar Fossil Plant, TVA's first coal-fired plant. In 1973, TVA began building Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station. Its first reactor, Watts Bar Unit 1, became active in 1996. The construction of the second reactor, Watts Bar Unit 2, was originally suspended in 1985, but resumed in 2007. It is expected to be completed in 2016.
On August 22, 1955, 11 schoolchildren were killed, and many others injured, when their school bus was struck by a freight train at a track crossing in Spring City. Sybil Hardaway, a Spring City-based reporter, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her account of the incident.
Geography
Spring City is located at 35°41′22″N 84°51′50″W / 35.68944°N 84.86389°W (35.689422, -84.863885).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2), of which, 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (1.21%) is water.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 598 | — | |
| 1900 | 640 | 7.0% | |
| 1910 | 1,039 | 62.3% | |
| 1920 | 1,001 | −3.7% | |
| 1930 | 1,090 | 8.9% | |
| 1940 | 1,569 | 43.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,725 | 9.9% | |
| 1960 | 1,800 | 4.3% | |
| 1970 | 1,756 | −2.4% | |
| 1980 | 1,951 | 11.1% | |
| 1990 | 2,199 | 12.7% | |
| 2000 | 2,025 | −7.9% | |
| 2010 | 1,981 | −2.2% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 1,851 | −6.6% | |
| Sources: | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,745 | 89.53% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 53 | 2.72% |
| Native American | 5 | 0.26% |
| Asian | 13 | 0.67% |
| Other/Mixed | 80 | 4.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 53 | 2.72% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,949 people, 935 households, and 537 families residing in the town.
Pictures of Town
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View of Watts Bar Lake
See also
In Spanish: Spring City (Tennessee) para niños
